Holy Dot Day, Batman!
If you managed to read the whole title of this post, you know we have a lot on the agenda for today! And it all has to do with dots – either directly or in a more roundabout way 🙂
We’ll start with Perfect Picture Books, which I like to put on top so it’s easy to find when people click over from the master list. I’ve chosen a book about a dog with spots… which are a lot like dots.
Next up will be my Dot for International Dot Day.
Finally, just when you think you can’t bear the suspense for another second, I will announce the winner of the Summer Send-Off Contest… before you go dotty! (OK. That was a reach :))
Ready? Set. GO!
Harry The Dirty Dog
Written By: Gene Zion
Illustrated By: Margaret Bloy Graham
Harper & Row, 1956, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 3-8
Themes/Topics: bath time, behavior (rebelliousness), facing consequences, problem solving, animals (dogs)
Opening: “Harry was a white dog with black spots who liked everything, except… getting a bath. So one day when he heard the water running in the tub, he took the scrubbing brush… and buried it in the back yard.”
Brief Synopsis: Harry doesn’t want a bath, so he hides the scrubbing brush and runs away. All day long he plays happily, getting dirtier and dirtier, until finally, when he returns home, he’s so dirty his family doesn’t even recognize him. What’s a dog to do?
Links To Resources: Harry The Dirty Dog Activities, Harry The Dirty Dog read by Betty White with pictures and tasteful animation (delightful!) as well as activities.
Why I Like This Book: I not only like this book, I love it. I loved it as a child. I loved it with my children. I love it as a writer because to me it’s a story that does everything right. I think children (and adults :)) can relate to Harry’s story because we all have the urge to rebel from time to time but, like Harry, in the end what we want most is to be safe and loved… even if it means having a bath 🙂 The art is delightful, depicting Harry as lively and lovable, culminating in the sweet last page where Harry is curled up, happily asleep and dreaming, but leaving you to wonder whether he hid that scrubbing brush to make sure he was always clean so his family would always recognize him, or whether he hid it to avoid another bath any time soon 🙂
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
Moving on, it’s time to celebrate International Dot Day!
Following the lead of Patricia Tilton on her wonderful blog Children’s Books Heal, I am joining in on International Dot Day, based on Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book The Dot. The idea is to encourage people not to be intimidated and to create their own art in the form of a dot. This year over half a million people will participate – primarily children in classrooms – but lots of other people as well. Celebri-dots features dots created by well-known authors and illustrators. (Dot Day is actually September 15, but I don’t post on Saturday so mine is going up today :))
I am not particularly artistic, but I had an idea for a dot. The lovely and talented Beth Stilborn, whose computer skills leave mine in the dust, turned my idea into reality. Thank you, Beth! 🙂
My dot is about love.
Love comes in many shapes and sizes. For my daughter it comes in the shape of a polka-dot pony. The pony is not fancy or highly bred. She’s 14.1 hands* of fine, cinnamon chip fur, with a sturdy build, a velvet-soft nose, one brown eye and one blue, and though she might not appear to be anything special, she owns my daughter’s heart. And it just so happens that two of those cinnamon dots that sprinkle her fur so liberally are heart shaped. I am not making this up. You can see one of them in the dot 🙂
* (for those who might not be horse people, a hand is the unit of measure for horses and is equal to 4″. 14.1 hands means that the pony stands 57″ at the withers.)
Here is the special pony those dots and that heart belong to 🙂
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| my daughter counted the pony’s spots one day and in case you’re wondering, she has 791! 🙂 |
and the poem my daughter wrote about her:
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Thank you for the trip down memory lane – I used to love Harry the Dirty Dog as a child. I can't wait to re-visit all my childhood faves when bub arrives and grows up a little. 🙂
Wow, I get to leave the first comment? I AM up early. Susanna, I love your pony and her dots, and I LOVE your daughter's poem. So adorable. What a nice idea for a dot.
Thanks, Carrie 🙂
Holy Summer Send-Off Contest, Ms. Hill! I can't believe I won! This was the hardest of the writing contests for me! I rewrote my entry 5-10 times (I lost count). Thank you VERY much!! Summer Short & Sweets was SUPER fun!
I love Harry! 😉 I've read “No Roses for Harry” and “Harry the Dirty Dog” I liked them both!
Cool dots and cool pony! (that's a lot off spots…er I mean dots!) I will post my dot tomorrow. 🙂
I love Harry and I love your dots! 🙂 Congrats to Erik as well!
Three cheers to Erik for winning the contest! YAY!! And I love those dots. The heart shaped dot melted my heart and the chocolate chip one made me hungry. Off for chocolate chip cookies lol!!!
Congratulations, Erik! Awesome! Lovely dots and what a fun chocolate chip horse! I, too, read Harry the Dirty Dog in my childhood!
Well congratulations, Erik! You earned it! And I'm sure you know, by the many enthusiastic comments on your blog, everyone loved your story 🙂 Glad you like Harry and the polka-dot pony 🙂
Thanks, Jennifer! Can't wait to come see what book you picked this week! 🙂
Glad you like the dot 🙂 And chocolate chip cookies for breakfast sounds like an excellent idea… I wonder if I have any… 🙂
Harry is one of my all-time favorites! I would have chosen a book about a spotty pony for today, but I don't know any… maybe I need to write one :)… so Harry was the closest I could think of 🙂
I love your daughter's wonderful poem and the pony dots! Very big congratulations to the talented, Erik (and the other 5!). Harry is a sweet enduring winner, great choice!
All that revision sure payed off, ERIK, Congrats!
Thanks, Joanna! Apparently “horse-crazy” is a gene that can be passed along from mom to child 🙂
Huge congrats to Erik! Your story is awesome! You did such a great job.I can tell you worked hard on it and, obviously, all those revisions paid off
:-)This book is definitely going on my library list. What a cute idea for a timeless book.
What do you get when you take Beth Stillborn, a beautiful pony, Susanna Leonard Hill, and Susanna's daughter? Delightful dots!!! I just love them. And, the poem….I'm so impressed. It is wonderful! Great meter and rhythm!
Congrats to Erik, whose story I loved loved loved!
And Susanna, I don't know anything about this dot day (I shall go inform myself herewith), but I love those fuzzy dots and your daughter's poem. I mean…that's a really good poem! 🙂
Congrats to Erik for his great story! And I love your daughters poem! Amazing for a 5 year old!
Congratulations, Erik…well done! And kudos for the rest of you who worked so diligently and creatively…
Yippee Erik!!!! Yahooiieee!!!!!! *ahem*
I read this book to all my kids until the cover was about to fall off. What a super de duper pick, Susanna! Harry is one COOL doggie!
And so is the lovely Cinnamon, the polka dotted pony. (There's a picture book there. You see it don'tcha?) Tell daughter I loved her poem! It cheered me and even made me feel a teensy-weensy bit better. What rhythm!!!! And that Beth! What an awesome woman all-around artist she is. I'd love to do dot day if I had a blog. I am going to try to get back in three more times, because I have reviews, an interview, and the suicide prevention thing to do. And my WordPress isn't set up yet. *sigh* Have a glorious weekend, pal of mine! xoxo
Thanks, Jarm! And maybe you'll want to enter the Halloween contest? 🙂
I agree – Erik did an awesome job 🙂 Harry is wonderful – a must-read if you haven't 🙂 And I'm so glad you like the polka-dot pony love dot – many thanks to Beth – I confess I'm very partial to that pony for being my daughter's friend!
That is girl and pony true love 🙂
*chuckle* She actually was a little older than 5 when she wrote it – Little Hill 5 means she's number 5 in the clan (aka the baby) 🙂 But thank you – I still think it's a pretty good poem 🙂
Erik did a terrific job, didn't he?! Glad to know you're a fellow Harry fan. And I thought you'd like this dot, being a fellow horse-lover 🙂 Beth is the awesomest! And you do have a blog! I've been there. So make a dot. Get Beth to help you 🙂 You could still get one up by the end of the weekend. It could be a Mr. Ed dot 🙂 to keep my polka-dot pony love dot company. (And BTW, her name is Hoops – don't ask me where that came from or who thought it up. She's related to a supposedly well-known quarter horse line – something to do with Doc? – and her official name is Hoops Up Doc. Seriously. I am not making that up. Because why would I?! :))
Congratulations, Erik!!!!!!
Susanna, Harry the Dirty Dog is one of my earliest picture book memories, my nana used to read it to me. A great way to indirectly have dots in your PPBF choice!
Your daughter's pony is a spotted beauty with a sweet, sweet face. It's easy to see why your daughter fell in love with her.
I have a lovingly tattered copy of HtDD too. Love the spots, er, dots! On Harry and the pony (what's its name?), but especially the creative dot ideas – really out-of-the…dot! (Time to recycle the box!)
Congratulations Erik, and to all the contestants for their terrific stories – this was an exciting contest to follow!
I know! I suppose we're dating ourselves that we love Harry, but he's so cute 🙂 And yes, that pony is a winner… even if she's got a bit of sass 🙂
YAY! Erik won! *doing a happy dance for Erik* Congratulations!
Great book to highlight for Dot Day, Susanna. I don't think I've read it, but yet it feels familiar — maybe I've encountered it somewhere along the line. If not, it's certainly time I did!
And I'm so glad to have helped your dot come into being. What a beautiful pony. Happy International Dot Day-ish!
I know – our copy of Harry barely holds together! The pony's name is Hoops (no, I have no idea why :)) I'm glad you liked the dots 🙂 And I'm glad you enjoyed the contest. Next one coming up for Halloween… get you're thinking cap on 🙂
He did a great job, didn't he? All those revisions paid off! Harry is an oldie but a goodie! If you haven't read it, you'll enjoy it 🙂 And thank you again for the dot – happy dot day to you too! 🙂
That was such a cute and marvelous poem by Little Hill. loved it! And what a lovely polka heart on your pony.
Wanted to congratulate, Erik, on a job well done! That was a great entry. I had my boys read all the stories by the finalist (hiding the author's names) and Erik was their favorite. Erik, you've got a bright future ahead of you!
Great job to you too, Romelle – you're entry was wonderful and received lots of votes! Glad you liked the poem and the polka-dot pony. It's amazing – she really does have two heart-shaped spots – one on her cheek and one on her shoulder – I guess she was made to be loved by a little girl 🙂
OOHH! You did have a full post this time. ( JUST like the others. lol)
1– Perfect Story for PPBF. thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
2– The dot of love is a special tribute to your daughter. Thanks so much for sharing the whole story. And what a cute poem! 🙂
3– Congrats to Erik for winning the contest! *Yay* Erik! 🙂
Susanna, thank you for posting the names of the finalists! I was honored to be second. Erik did a great job. Thank you again for hosting this contest. It's been a great experience.
I love the story about the pony, and the pictures of the heart spot and your daughter's poem. It was so sweet! Happy Friday 🙂
Puppies, ponies & a super summer contest winner! Three terrific reasons to love this post! Congratulations, Erik, and many thanks, as ever, to the wonderful Susanna!
Wow…that is some post (and title…now I don't feel so badly about mine that often take up two lines)! First off, hurray for Erik! I loved his entry…it was truly an honor to be one of the finalists amongst such amazing submissions. 🙂 And hurray, Susanna, for the great dot contribution…and thanks to “Little Hill 5” for the awesome poem…I'll be posting my dot tonight (for tomorrow)…as I have not yet (after almost 2 years) been able to figure out just what my blog schedule should be.:)
And last, but certainly not least, hurray for “Harry the Dirty Dog”…this has always been one of my favorites…for reading to my kindergarten classes 'back in the day' and also to my own children thirty plus years ago. Every child can relate to Harry, who doesn't want a bath. 🙂
So glad to be back in stride with PPBF!
Can I say that the favorite part of this post is the poem by your daughter? So sweet. It inspires me to be sure and keep all the wonderful little bits and pieces from my own kids' childhood. Sometimes I am a little too quick to throw out what seems like the umpteenth picture they brought home from school.
And that dirty dog Harry is a classic! Love him.
Thanks, Susanna!
Love this post! Hooray to Erik! Congrats to the finalists also, all of the entries were wonderful to read.
I loved, loved, loved Harry when I was little. It was a wonderful book. Good choice for PPBF's.
Your dots are great! What a fun event! I loved the pony pic and the poem. They are adorable. 🙂
Isn't Harry the best? 🙂 And so glad you liked the dots, pony and poem 🙂
I know. I am the pack rat. My husband is always grumbling about how we're drowning in stuff and we have to throw something out, but I can't bear to part with something that someone might want someday. Who knows? My daughter could become a writer and need childhood writing to share on school visits – goodness knows I do that. The most popular part of my presentation is when I share the “book” I wrote in second grade 🙂 Glad to have found another Harry lover 🙂
Can't wait to see your dot! And you are so funny about your blog schedule 🙂 I try to stick to Mon. Wed. Fri. but as you can see I end up with so much to say I overflow my posts 🙂 Glad you liked the dot, the poem and Harry 🙂
Thank you too, Patricia, for being such a lovely, involved, participant in all that goes on around here 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it, Sidney! I hope you'll be around to participate in future contests – your entry was terrific and I look forward to reading more of your writing!
Are you suggesting that my posts have a tendency to run long? 🙂 Glad you enjoyed Harry, the dot, the poem etc. And so lad to have you back visiting – I missed you while you were away!
Actually, Hoops Up Doc sounds more like a name for a basketball playing rabbit, but what do I know? I named my girl cat George (because I believed the myth that all yellow/ginger cats are male) (males don't have kittens, last time I checked).
I LOVE Harry the Dirty Dog, LOVE the pony dots and LOVE Erik's story. Therefore I LOVE this post!!
You are just full of love today 🙂 We all love you too 🙂
Hee hee hee – a basketball playing rabbit – I love it 🙂 How many kittens? 🙂
Beth Stilborn (unregistered) wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Actually, Hoops Up Doc sounds more like a name for a basketball playing rabbit, but what do I know? I named my girl cat George (because I believed the myth that all yellow/ginger cats are male) (males don't have kittens, last time I checked).
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I think there were 5 kittens to start with. or four. only 2 survived. I think George was a bit bewildered by motherhood — maybe she'd thought she was a boy, too! 😉
poor George 🙂
Beth Stilborn (unregistered) wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I think there were 5 kittens to start with. or four. only 2 survived. I think George was a bit bewildered by motherhood — maybe she'd thought she was a boy, too! 😉
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